A crowd of passengers wait at the Sai Gon Railway Station in HCM City. (Photo: laodong.vn) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Transportunits at coach stations and airports as well as train stations in Ho Chi MinhCity are busy meeting passenger demand for travel before and afterthe Tet (Lunar New year) holiday.
The Sai Gon Railway Station inDistrict 3 has 17-22 trains departing each day between 6am and 11:05pm,carrying 15,000-17,000 passengers from HCM City.
Do Quang Van, director of the station, said thestation has added four times the staff and workedwith local police forces and public security forces toprovide the best services during the holiday.
Because traffic jams often occur on streetsleading to the train station on peak days of the upcoming holiday, passengersshould arrive at the station at least 30 minutes prior to their departure toavoid late arrival.
About 30 passengers on average were latefor their buses during Tet last year, he said.
“If there is availability, the station willconsider returning or changing the tickets for late passengers tohelp them get home for Tet.”
The station will also strengthen control ofpassengers’ boarding cards and identification papers at the entrance gate.
“Passengers should not buy tickets fromindividuals outside the station who could be selling fake or invalidtickets,” Van said.
The Mien Dong (Eastern) CoachStation in Binh Thanh district has recently been crowded witha large number of passengers.
According to its management board, about 200transportation units are now working. As of last Friday, more than 308,000bus tickets were still available, including 93,000 tickets for buses with beds.
Major transporters such as PhuongTrang, Chin Nghia and Thuan Thao plan to add more buses tosatisfy rising demand.
The peak period will run from January 27 toFebruary 2, with the busiest day on January 31.
At Mien Tay (Western) CoachStation in Binh Tan district, the peak period is expected to be February1-4. It has shorter routes from HCM City to the Southwest, compared toroutes from HCM City to the central, Central Highlands and northern regions.
Dang Nguyen Nguyen Huan, deputy director of theWestern Coach Station, said the station had asked the TransportDepartment’s Public Transportation Management Centre to adjustthe departure time of bus routes No. 10, 151, 601, 618 and 14 during the holidays.
Transportation units are worried about thevolume of vehicles on HCM City-Trung LuongExpressway during the peak period, he said.
The two coach stations are expected to serve130,000 passengers per day during the holiday.
Facing the same situation, Tan SonNhat International Airport is already seeing overcrowding at its gateswith many overseas Vietnamese returning for Tet.
“It’s not easy to buy airline tickets fordomestic routes, especially flights between HCM City and some central provincesand cities such as Da Nang, Vinh and Thanh Hoa,” said Vo Van Phuc, an airticket sales agent in District 3.
Tickets for the routes, which are priced 3-4million (130-172 USD) for one-way flights, are almost sold out, he said.-VNS/VNA
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